Blur's Stunning Civic Hall Comeback

Blur

Wolverhampton Civic Hall

Review and photographs by James Watkins

Britpop made a comeback in the West Midlands last night, when Blur turned back the clock and stormed their way through a set list that shook the Civic Hall's foundations.

From the moment Damon Albarn, Graham Coxon, Alex James and Dave Rowntree walked reunited onstage for the first time in nearly a decade, you just felt that something special was about to happen. And it did.

Opening with She Is So High, Blur stormed their way through a plethora of hits and fan favourites including Girls And Boys, There's No Other Way, Popscene and Beetlebum.

For two energetic hours, the fans lapped up every song by jumping around as they evoked memories of the artsy combo that re-invented the British music scene in the mid nineties with indie, polo shirts and Adidas trainers.

The energy and prowess that was produced was stunning throughout. Figurehead Albarn was a consummate frontman, taking every opportunity to rediscover his past by climbing barriers, getting among the fans and even taking a stage dive into the crowd late on in the set. Song 2 also produced a sea of crowd surfers and beer throwers but it was all harmless fun.

The gig was billed as a warm-up to their headline slot at Glastonbury on Sunday and their two mammouth shows at London's Hyde Park next week, but it never felt as though it was anything but a complete set that had it all.

The finale of The Universal summed up the night perfectly. It 'Really Really Could Happen' and for those lucky fans tonight it did. This was Blur at their very best.